Acronym: Business support

Project duration: 01.04.2017 – 31.03.2019 (24 months)

Lead partner: Zemgale planning region, LV

Project partners:

• Kurzeme Planning Region, LV;
• Latvian Rural Advisory and Training Centre Ltd, LV;
• Aizkraukle local municipality, LV;
• Siauliai business incubator LT;
• Panevezys Business Advisory centre LT;
• Jouzas Keliuotis Rokiskis District Municipal Public Library LT.

Project aim: To promote entrepreneurship development, providing support system and promoting the viability of the business idea, focusing on the business launch and self- employment, by including business support institutions.

Project specific objectives:

• Increasing cross-border collaboration and strengthening capacity of business support organizations.
• Promote entrepreneurships providing support system of business ideas to viablestart-ups.

Planned activities and results:

• Established 2 new business support centers – Aizkraukle business support center (LV), Rokiškis library, business and NGOs cluster “Enterprising library” (LT)
• Equipped 6 business support institutions (furniture, IT, conference equipment, etc.)
• Improved 4 business support institutions’ homepages
• Created web based joint LV, LT network with integrated advisory system for entrepreneurship, combining all project partners’ homepages
• Research of business support system implementation possibilities in LV, LT – to identify business support institutions in Latvia and Lithuania, their activities and services provided for entrepreneurs, their strengths and weaknesses and to develop recommendations which services are most effective for business support and necessary themes needed for trainings.
• 2 Workshops about results of the research and best practice exchange between LV,LT
• 6 business support centers personnel and stakeholders trainings in identified research themes
• 1 experience exchange trip for business support center personnel
• Established cross border mentor network
• Trained TOP 20 Consultants in 4 different themes: “Processes of the negotiation”; “Development of the business ideas”; “Mentoring of the business development”; “Tools and methods for mentor’s development”.
• Training methods will be applied in the Latvian and Lithuanian situation – trained 150 LV,LT business support institutions personnel, entrepreneurs
• Developed joint pre-entrepreneurial training programme and e-learning platform for entrepreneurs and startups
• Organized 12 pilot trainings in LV, LT
• Organized workshop to identify barriers of the SMEs for the export activities implementation
• Organized 5 workshops, seminars for export promotion
• Developed the world’s largest country specific set of rules divided by sector. Set of rules – 10 documents – for each country with included at least five exporting sectors description of the terms.
• Developed International treaty sample forms
• Provided marketing toll with possibility to create brochure, posters, video and other materials.
• Organized 4 Business day events for entrepreneurs to promote their products and find new partners in Aizkraukle, Siauliai, and Rokiskis.
• Developed joint LV, LT booklet about entrepreneurship support system.
• Implemented publicity campaign for entrepreneurial skills and spirit promotion to people to start business – 3 video storylines about business support possibilities, 2 publications in national level media, and social network activities during project lifecycle, etc.
• Business start-ups forum – Final conference event about business startups, support system, its’ quality and availability.

Project total budget: 729 604.12 EUR  ( ERDF financing 620163.47 EUR)

Kurzeme Planning Region: 99 999,75 EUR (ERDF financing 84999.76 EUR)

Project is co-financed by: Interreg V-A Latvia – Lithuania cross border cooperation programme 2014-2020, www.latlit.eu